My latest MSN Movies gallery uses “Salt” as a lever into the world of the hero on the run — someone who’s been framed for murder (or worse) and forced to disappear underground to clear his or her name.
… okay, it’s always a “his” sort of situation, which is why casting Jolie as the running woman in “Salt” seems so edgy and modern. Frankly, I’d just rather watch her go through the motions in this sort of movie than Tom Cruise. She makes for a much more interesting fugitive these days.
Just a handful of movies opening this weekend, with the Angelina Jolie thriller “Salt” looking set to dominate … unless “Inception” succeeds in drawing audiences back for another look, of course. (Word of mouth could also pull in a few million bucks’ worth of business from those who sat out the first weekend.)
Anyway, here’s what’s on today’s megaplex menu:
“Gasland“: Feel like experiencing profound environmental dread, with a couple of laughs mixed in? Josh Fox’ antic, appropriately outraged documentary about the toxic downside of hydraulic fracking — a hit at Hot Docs, and screened at the Toronto Underground Cinema last month — gets a proper theatrical berth at the Royal.
“House“: I see an awful lot of movies, and let me say with no exaggeration that Nobuhiko Obayashi’s haunted-house picture is one of the most unique, crazy-assed things I’ve ever experienced. I’m very happy that Janus Films is giving it a chance to infect big-screen crowds with its particular madness before the Halloween DVD/BD release slips it into people’s homes, Ringu-style. Banana! Banana!
“Ramona and Beezus“: Beverly Cleary’s young-adult books are gently updated for present-day audiences in this surprisingly sweet and engaging film, which weaves a couple of genuinely moving subplots which Joey King’s Ramona must negotiate between knocking stuff over. And if you don’t have kids, you can still enjoy the tender love story between Ginnifer Goodwin and Josh Duhamel. Where the hell did that come from?
“Salt”: Angelina Jolie does the “No Way Out” thing as a CIA agent who goes on the run — to clear her name? To protect a secret? — after she’s fingered as a Russian plant. No reviews yet, but seeing Philip Noyce’s name in the director’s box gets my hopes up.
Seriously, that’s it. Two studio pictures, two rep premieres, and nothin’ else. Which is just as well, since the arrival of Mystery Dog took up all my spare time this week anyway. He’s still here, by the way, so if you know anyone who’s missing a really sweet-natured beagle mix, please pass along their contact information.
The latest issue of NOW is out, in which I wrestle with the films and philosophy of director Catherine Breillat, who’s being celebrated by TIFF Cinematheque in a restrospective starting this week. Can’t say I’m a fan, exactly, but I do respect the consistency of her output.
In thematically related news, the AV Club’s Tasha Robinson has written an excellent essay about the challenge of separating an artist’s personal life from his or her work. With Mel Gibson’s latest self-immolation, Roman Polanski’s release from house arrest and Lindsay Lohan going to jail all in the space of a week, it’s a very relevant read. You should check it out.
This week’s MSN DVD column looks at television — specifically, British television, much of which is awfully good and some of which may be entirely new to you.
“Being Human”. “Look Around You”. “Last Chance to See”. “Stephen Fry in America”. I heartily recommend them all, and can suggest still others if you’re curious. The complete runs of “Spaced” and “Black Books”, for instance. Or “Coupling”, created by the same Steven Moffat who’s now doing such wonderful things with “Doctor Who”. And the wonderful panel show “QI”, which is not yet on disc over here but is viewable on the BBC’s website — though you might have to reconfigure your browser for that one.
Anyway, read the piece. And bring something home tonight. Or if you’re feeling like taking advantage of the weather, join Ali and me at Harbourfront at 9 pm for a screening of Morgan Spurlock’s “Super Size Me“, the third in this summer’s Free Flicks series.
It’s guaranteed to be the only one where someone barfs a burger out a car window … unless my memories of “In the Mood for Love” are blurrier than I think.
File this one under the heading of “Great job, AV Club!”: My favorite pop-culture omnivores have discovered there’s going to be an auction of “Lost” props next month in Los Angeles; a company called Profiles in History is about a thousand elements of the show, from Ana Lucia’s LAPD badge to Desmond’s backpack, up for sale.
My first thought was, yeah, an Apollo bar might be kinda nifty to have around. But then I looked at the preview pages and realized just how cool it could be to own “32 DHARMA Beer Cans in Varied Condition“, or the hatch’s fail-safe key, or Charlie’s Drive Shaft ring.
But if I go for anything, it’s probably going to be Desmond and Penny’s snapshot — I imagine it might be nice to have that tucked away on the piano in an understated frame, just waiting to be noticed. There’s a whole world in there.
Or Daniel’s journal. I mean, just in case.
It’s no real surprise that “Inception” topped the box-office this weekend; there was nothing else opening against it, and the combination of Leonardo DiCaprio and “From the Director of ‘The Dark Knight'” was enough to pull in $60.4 million. It’s DiCaprio’s biggest opening to date, apparently, though of course it’s a mere fraction of writer-director Christopher Nolan’s take on “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight”.
Not that Nolan worries about this stuff, mind you. I really believe that; on “The Dark Knight” junket, when idiot journalists were asking him whether Heath Ledger’s death might cause audiences to reject the film, he said he was happy with the movie he’d made, and the question of ticket sales had been out of his hands from the day he started developing the script. So he’s cool either way — though I’m sure Warner’s relieved that “Inception” didn’t turn out to be the spectacular bomb that some writers were … predicting? Hoping for?
Whatever the motivation, it wasn’t the case. $60.4 million is pretty decent, and in any case Nolan had already secured his future by announcing his plans to make another Batman movie. So everybody wins, except for those who didn’t like “Inception”. But there’s no helping those people, really.
I don’t often blog on Sundays any more; it’s not a religious thing, more of a too-busy-to-post thing. But the little guy in the picture compels me to make an exception.
He turned up in a neighbor’s yard sometime Friday afternoon, and he clearly comes from somewhere — he’s too well cared for to be a stray. We don’t think he’s from around here; none of the building’s dog owners have encountered him in their travels, and as someone who will stop and pet almost anything on four legs, if I’ve never said hello to him before, he’s not local.
If you do know him, please leave a note (and a contact address) in the comments below. He’s got some fresh gashes on his tail and a wobble to his rear legs that suggests he got knocked around by something — a motorcycle, maybe, or possibly a bicycle — on his way here. He’s very sweet, and he’s safe and comfortable, but I’m also sure he’d much rather be with his own people if that’s at all possible.
I’ve put the word out via Facebook and Twitter as well, but I figure I ought to try every means available, right?
My latest MSN Movies gallery is up, in which I use Nicolas Cage’s magnificent wizard-handing in “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” to look at other cinematic mages. And big ups to our vigilant art department, for finding the best still of John Malkovich in “Eragon” that anyone could ever want.
Oh, I remember everything. It’s more of a curse than a gift, really.
Interesting situation at the megaplex today. We’ve got one of the year’s most anticipated movies — which also happens to be one of the year’s best movies — and a bunch of other stuff arriving as counterprogramming, swimming around it like pilot fish.
If you see “Inception”, and I hope that you do, you might not want to see anything else for a while, letting the images and undercurrents rustle around in your brain. But if you’re craving a second hit of cinema, here’s what’s opening this weekend.
“I am Love”: The idea of seeing Tilda Swinton performing en Italiano (and also Russian and English) certainly intrigued me when Luca Guadagnino ‘s familial drama played TIFF last year, but I was never able to catch up to it — and conflicts prevented me from seeing the recent press screening. Glenn was really high on it (Jason, a little less so), so hopefully I’ll be able to squeeze it in before this year’s TIFF starts up in earnest.
“Inception“:I know, I put it up in yesterday’s post, but dammit, Christopher Nolan’s fractal heist picture is good enough to mention twice. Go see it. In IMAX. Preferably now.
“Mr. Nobody“: It’s funny — Jaco Van Dormael’s appalling digital wankfest is the anti-“Inception”, foregoing character development and intellectual engagement for the empty CG spectacle which Nolan’s film will surely be accused of wielding by people unwilling to consider its structure. Worst of all, it wastes what seems to be a very considered performance by Sarah Polley; I couldn’t even bring myself to ask her about it during our “Splice” interview, though in fairness I was also sure this thing would never be released.
“Restrepo“: Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington chronicle the experiences of an American platoon in a remote part of Afghanistan over the course of one year in this alternately amusing and horrific documentary. It’s like “Jarhead”, without Sam Mendes trying to fetishize everything. (That’s a positive.)
“Sweetgrass”: Sheep. Fields of sheep, rolling like wet snow over the Montana mountaintops. Sometimes you see a border collie in there, steering; sometimes, a guy on a horse rides past. That’s the totality of Ilisa Barbach and Lucia Castaing-Taylor’s documentary, which entranced Jason; Susan, not so much.
I would suggest maybe following “Inception” with “Sweetgrass”, if you get all double-billy. Sheep are just soothing, you know?
The latest issue of NOW features my interview with Sebastian Junger, author of the book “War” and co-director of its companion piece, “Restrepo”, which opens tomorrow. (If you’re in New York or Los Angeles, it’s been playing for a few weeks already, so why haven’t you seen it?)
He’s an interesting guy, and his thoughtfulness really comes across in the audio clips, which haven’t been attached to the page yet. I humbly suggest that if you do read the piece before they go up, you should go back and look for them again later today.
Oh, and one other thing: Christopher Nolan’s “Inception” starts its run at midnight tonight. If you were thinking of going … do.